Local Calling Area Map

[hartie]

Does Koodo have a map that I can look at to see where the boundaries are for each Local Calling Area?

I live in Victoria, what are the physical boundaries that my calls are local? I know with Fido it goes all the way up to Nanaimo, at least with my plan.

I find these maps very difficult to find on any of the carriers sites.

[KoodoMobile]

Unfortunately nothing on the web at this point, although I agree it would be a good thing to have available.

You should try calling the call centre and asking them 1-866-99-KOODO, they should have the information.

[flipflash77]

Does Koodo's coverage and boundaries differ greatly enough from Telus' that the Telus maps would be wholly inaccurate?

[KoodoMobile]

Coverage and calling areas would mirror TELUS and Bell I believe.

[hartie]

Unfortunately nothing on the web at this point, although I agree it would be a good thing to have available.

You should try calling the call centre and asking them 1-866-99-KOODO, they should have the information.

thanks will try calling them at some point.

Does Koodo's coverage and boundaries differ greatly enough from Telus' that the Telus maps would be wholly inaccurate?

Problem with looking at the Telus maps, is that they do not have maps for Local Calling Area's either, or at least I cannot find them.

I think most people do not know the boundaries of their Local Area. I would really like to see all the companies make this info more readily available.

[Vindicator]

Telus USED to have a tool available to Client Care that would allow us to enter in the originating city and it would display all of the exchanges that would be local.

Koodo and Telus client care should probably have access to this tool.

[gp2050]

http://www.localcallingguide.com/lca_listregion.php

Does this not work?

It's how I found out that if I sign up for a number in Hespeler, my number is local in both Kitchener/Waterloo and Guelph.

[hartie]

Thanks gp2050

That site is very informative. Very clever of you to get a Hespeler number.

So mobile companies use the same boundaries that landlines use?

Would still be nice to have a map for every area, I prefer pictures

[HonestCarl]

http://www.bell.ca/support/PrsCSrvWl...LocalArea.page

Same approach as the link listed above but taken directly from the Bell site.

Assuming that the local calling areas are mirrored from Bell to Telus to Koodo, this should solve any issues.

Note that the boundaries listed on these sites do differ in some areas. In the GTA, for example, the local calling areas on the Bell site are slightly larger and cover a few more suburban towns than is indicated on www.localcallingguide.com. Something to keep in mind if you live in one of those 'fringe' cities.

[OCZ]

I used that local area list provided above and I saw that 905-391-xxxx does allow me to call 416 and 647 as they are in my calling area...yet I get charged for calling those numbers....

weird.....???????

[HonestCarl]

Speaking to a friend on Telus, he noticed the same thing.

On the Bell site, a 905-251-xxxx number is in the same calling area as 416/647 but, depending on his location within his hometown, he is charged long-distance to Toronto. I wonder if it's an issue with number porting (he went Rogers to Telus)?

Either way, the Bell site states it should be a local call. In most cases, however, it is billed as long-distance. As far as I'm aware, the Bell site is the clearest and most concise publicly available list regarding local calling areas. Unfortunately, it does not seem to represent reality.

I emailed Bell a few weeks ago regarding this specific issue and was referred to the site to solve any discrepancies for their local calling areas. Unsatisfied, I called a CSR today to further clarify and was told the information is not readily available and the only way to truly find out about local calling areas is to buy a phone and a plan. Through trial and error, ie: trying phone numbers without +1, I will eventually realize the limits of my calling area.

It's a costly, time-consuming, and ridiculous process for two reasons. Firstly, it nullifies the local calling guide on Bell's site which clearly is inaccurate. And secondly, all customers who live near these borders end up playing dice -- that can mean the difference of $20-$50 on a bill in "supposedly-local" long-distance charges.

Anyone offer some form of clarity/transparency into this?

[R.K.Himura]

For outgoing call from a cellphone, your own cell number doesn't really come into play in regards to local vs long distance. It's your LOCATION when you're making the call that counts. i.e. Even if i have a Toronto number. If i were to call a Edmonton number when i'm physically in Edmonton, there'll be no long distance. But if i were to call back to Toronto at the same location, LD will apply.

Now, due to the fact that there's no boarder for cell signal, if you're located between two towers that belongs to two different local area, then it really depends which tower you're connected when you make a outgoing call to determine if you'll be charged for LD or not. Unfortunately it's the nature of the system and can't be changed.

[hartie]

I understand that. But Fido posts maps, so you know what your "local area" is. I have the urban map, so I know its approximate boundaries.

Just wish other telcos would do the same thing, but I guess they make more money out of our confusion.

[KoodoMobile]

It is about money but not about making money out of the confusion. The system that shows the local areas isn't very user friendly and would cost quite a bit of money to put it online in a customer friendly fashion. It's not as easy as throwing up a map online (the Fido ones show the Urban zone, that is different from a local area).

[hartie]

I'm not picking fault at just Koodo, every carrier does not have the full information about the "local calling" area.

The Fido Urban zones may be different than "local calling" zones, but to me its the same because my Urban zone is call local calls for me.

Just hoping that one day all the carriers will be able to provide more infomation (maps) about it.